"Sen, Zetsu, I am trusting the two of you with a certain mission." Pein said, a serious look painted across his pierced face. "I need you to go to The Village Hidden in The Leaves to keep watch on a few things. First off, Zetsu, I need you to keep watch on you-know-who's activity. We all know he's up to something since he left. Second, I need you two to scope out the Chunin Exams results. Sen, that can be your job, and in the mean time, you can compete in the Chunin Exams as well. Neither of you must get caught. I'll send a few members occasionally to check on the two of you. There's another former Akatsuki headquarters near there that you both can stay in. Sen, you'll be delighted to hear there's old scrolls with Akatsuki profiles there that you can read." I smiled. Pein chuckled and coninued, "This will take relatively two years. Can I trust the two of you with this?" Zetsu and I said 'Yes, sir' at the same time. "Good. Please leave by tomorrow." We left the room and I went into my room to pack my things.

"I expect you to be up and ready to go by eleven a.m. tomorrow morning. Got it?" Zetsu threatened me. I nodded without a word.

My heard pounded furiously as I packed my small, red bag. It had been with me all these years. I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I wondered if Kaede might be able to go with us, but I figured that Zetsu wouldn't allow it.

The next morning, I was up at my usual time: six a.m. Usually, Sensei and I would be training, but not this morning. He had been informed of the mission Zetsu and I were being sent on. I tied my Grass headband, without the typical Akatsuki 'scratch' I might add, around my waist and under my shirt. I had learned to do so when I was stabbed in the stomach while on a mission. I bid them all farewell, silent as I was. I told Kaede, who was a very close friend already, that I might see her later. In her negative way, she told me she hoped I wasn't going to die, and I told her there was no way I would. As I told them goodbye, I couldn't help but think of Leri, and my ecstatic mood grew sullen.

The journey to the Leaf Village was relatively quiet. It took only two days for us to get there, by noon one day. Neither Zetsu nor I spoke over five words in a day.

We stood in the foliage, hiding as only our kind could, watching the Leaf guards shift nervously from foot to foot. Zetsu turned to me and whispered;

"Don't you dare get attatched to any of these damned Leaf ninja, OK? They're nothing but weaklings. I know how much trouble you like to cause, but don't do it. We can't draw attention ourselves. And you know what will happen if you make friends with these...these...oh, what's a word?"

"Hereditary diseases?"

"Good idea." No it's not. I hissed mentally. It's dumb, and so are you for agreeing with it. "Whatever you do, don't draw attention, got it?" I nodded.

Pft. How do you not draw attention? A vile thought entered my mind. I had become much colder in not only my personality, but also my words. I couldn't help but insult people, but sometimes I had the strength to hold it in. However, Zetsu was right. I did know what would happen if I made friends and he knew about it. I had once made a friend and Zetsu found out. He kidnapped her and beheaded her in front of me.

"Hey! Idiot! Are you deaf, too? Go, already!" I realized as I was thinking Zetsu had been telling me to go.

"Oh! My apologies, Oniisan!" I said and bowed. I could tell he was itching to slap me. I went ahead before that could happen. I showed the guards my headband with the Grass symbol on it and told them I was here for the Chunin Exams. They let me pass.

I heard one of the guards say to the other, "Hey, Genma, doesn't that girl look sort of suspicious to you?"

"Yeah, I guess you are sort of right, Raido. And hey...she didn't have a Genin team..." They didn't come chasing after me or anything, they let me go.

Konohagakure was HUGE. It's size was unbelievable. Even I, an Akatsuki member, was in awe of its people, and-Oh! What's that? I marveled as I looked at a large mountain with four faces carved into it. People swarmed around me, going in different directions. I was probably the only person standing completely still.

"Can I help you? You look kind of lost." I spun around to see a man standing there. His complexion was a deep tan color and he had brown hair tied up in a ponytail. A scar made a frown over his nose. He laughed. "I'm sorry. Did I scare you? My name's Iruka Umino. I can tell you're new to the Leaf Village."

"Um...yes, my name is Senari, or Sen, and I'm from the Village Hidden in the Grass."

"Are you here for the Chunin Exams?"

I hesitated, forgetting I was still counted as Genin. "Yes, sir."

"Where's your team?"

I stopped, my eyes wide, trying to form an answer. Zetsu hadn't talked about this! "Um...They couldn't make it, so they sent me to represent them."

"Oh, OK. Would you like me to introduce you to the Leaf Genin teams? I'm a Chunin already, but I'm a sensei in the Academy."

I nodded. "Yes, please. That would be nice." Iruka smiled and led me around the village. The first team we visited was strange, but was one person was apparently missing from that team.

There were four people there: A tall man with grey hair and a mask, a girl with pink hair wearing a red dress, a boy with a blue outfit and dark blue hair, and another boy with bright yellow hair and blue eyes. My eyes grew wide.

Could it be...?

No child, he's at his home, remember?

But...I miss him...and he looks so much like him...

I know, dear, I know.

I hid behind Iruka as he spoke. "Kakashi, where's Kaarayomiihi?"

The man with grey hair replied, "He had to go somewhere today. He'll be back any minute."

"Oh, well in that case, I-"

"Iruka sensei, Iruka sensei! I made a new installment into my special Jutsu!" The boy that almost made me cry exclaimed. With my curiousity and thirst for jutsu, I had to ask, although I was breaking a rule.

"Special...Jutsu?" I peeked around Iruka and the boy's eyes grew wide before he started laughing his head off. The other three seemed curious.

Iruka sighed. "Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto," he looked down at the boy with scorn, "I'd like you all to meet Sen. She's going to be competing in the Chunin Exams. Sen, I need to talk to Kakashi. You stay here and talk with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke." Iruka left me there, to talk with Kakashi.

I slid down to my knees, looking at the dirt. The boy like him shouted, "Hiya! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! One day, I'm gonna be Hokage! And these are my teammates, Sakura and Sasuke!"

"Sasuke...?" I whispered. I remembered the name from somewhere...I couldn't remember where...Aha! Itachi had said that Sasuke was his younger brother, and they had a relationship somewhat like the one Zetsu and I seemed to perfectly maintain. He looked the part, too. His eyes were black and hateful, the Uchiha clan symbol on the back of his shirt. He glowered down at me, and seemed as though we were having a staring contest. Suddenly, his eyes turned red, without him blinking.

"Sasuke!" Naruto moaned. "Don't do that to her. You're gonna scare her. She probably doesn't even know what an Uchiha is, let alone the Sharingan." Oh, I knew what an Uchiha was; I knew. I'd known two more Uchiha's than he had!

"She'd better know what an Uchiha is." Sasuke said, irritated.

Sakura cooed, "Oh, Sasuke! You're so cool when you talk about the Uchiha clan like that!"

"Shut up and get away from me." Sakura stopped her cooing and trying to impress him when he rejected her.

"Hey! You guys didn't start training without me, did you?" I looked up and saw something that looked relatively funny. I couldn't help but finger the crescent moon around my neck. I'd never taken it off. There was another boy. He had black hair and two different colored eyes. One was red and the other was orange. He wore no headband, but there was a gourd tied to his back. Spots of it were a pinkish-red color, like there was incredible heat inside it. A black cat with green eyes curled itself around his feet, batting at the ends of his long, blue pants. He wore a simple orange shirt that said "fire" in Japanese lettering. He saw me and made a funny face. "Who're you?"

I looked down into the dirt. Sasuke and Naruto began arguing and Sakura was caught up in the middle. The other boy was the only one who was paying attention to me. "My name is Sen."

He stood in front of me. "Well, pleasant to meet you, Sen. I'm Kaarayomiihi Netzu! Or, Kaara, if you like." He had his arms folded but unfolded them. Before he did so, I noticed something glinting on one finger of his hand. When he put his arms down by his side, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down so I could see his hand clearly. I had been right.

I looked up at him without letting go of his arm, my sharp nails digging into the flesh. "Ah! Needles!" He screeched quietly. He was on one knee, looking at me like I was insane.

"You're in the Akatsuki."

His eyes grew wide. "Please, don't tell any of these ninja!" He begged me in a whisper.

I smiled plesantly. "Don't worry. I'm in the Akatsuki, too. And so is my brother."

He scoffed. "So, who's your brother? Kakuzu? Hidan? Tobi?"

"Zetsu."

"WHAT?!" Kaarayomiihi stood up, seemingly apalled. A wide grin spread across his face. "Zetsu's awesome! You're lucky!"

"You say that now..." I looked away shamefully.

"What?"

"Nothing. A piece of advice: I'd hide that ring." Kaara nodded and stuffed the ring into his ninja pouch.

"Sen? Are you ready to go meet the other teams?" Iruka called me. Satisified I had found a friend, I stood up and smiled. That was four. "You're in a good mood." Iruka laughed and I simply smiled.

When we reached the other group, there were two girls and two boys, plus a male sensei. One of the girls had blonde hair and a purple outfit. The other had black hair with red streaks, a black spaghetti-strap shirt, and black pants. Her eyes were bright red. One of the boys was...pudgy and he had funny-looking brown hair. The other had his hair done up somewhat like Iruka's and he looked relatively lazy. Once more, Iruka had to go and speak with their sensei, who's name, I learned, was Asuma.

The boys immeditaly walked up to me. The pudgy one introduced himself first. "Hi, Sen! I'm Choji Akimichi."

"And I'm Shikamaru Nara," said the other.

I smiled, knowing I could easily become friends with these boys. "And it's a pleasure to meet the both of you, gentlemen."

Choji laughed. "Did'ya get that, Shikamaru? She called us gentlemen! That's a first!" We all found this amusing. Then the girls approached me. The blonde one came first.

"You look pretty strong for a Kunoichi. Where're you from, again?"

"The Grass Village."

"Wow. I've heard that's a really unpleasant place. Well, anyway, I'm Ino Yamanaka. My dad and I own a flower shop. If you ever need flowers, you know where to shop!" She smiled and laughed. I smiled.

Then the other girl came. She shoved Ino out of the way and said to Shikamaru and Choji, "Move over, lazy bum and fatso."

I frowned. "That was very rude. You should be nicer. They are your teammates."

"I don't take advice from strangers." She commented, looking me up and down, as if trying to see how strong of an opponent I might be. "I'm Amaya Yuhi," she offered, still in a rude tone.

"Senari. It's very...nice to meet you." I already did not like this girl. Discretely, I balled my fist up.

Not now, my dear. You will have your time...

Yes, Tsume. I shall refrain.

Good girl. Just then, it dawned on my that I had not seen Tsume's true form. You will see when the time comes, child.

"Sen? Time to meet the next group. After that, there's only one left." I nodded when Iruka told me it was time to go. I needed to go right then, or else violence between Amaya and I would've broken out. The next team consisted of the same amount of people, only they had a female sensei, and her name was Kurenai. Of course, Iruka had to speak with her. Only three of the four people approached me out of the group. One of the boys was wearing a very high collar and black glasses that glinted in the light. I knew what I was looking at, and I'm sure my eyes glinted, too. This was the child prodigy of the fabled clan I had loved to learn so much of. The Aburame clan. There was no mistaking it, by the insects that crawled in and out of his skin.

The other boy that approached me was wearing a jacket and had two red marks on the side of his face. The last, a girl, had long purple hair with red bangs; a dress similar to Sakura's, except it was sea green with red trimming and the ends were frayed; a bow and arrow attatched to her back; one green and one yellow eye; and a small freckle on the outside of her right eye, the yellow one. She looked very hyper. The boy with the red marks on his face spoke up first.

"Hi, I'm Kiba Inuzuka. That's Unmei," he pointed to the girl that had come over, "Over there's Hinata Hyuga. Don't be offended: she never talks to anyone new. This is Shino Aburame." He whispered in my ear, "He's one creepy guy, with all those bugs and stuff..." Kiba shivered. I heard a dog bark. There was a small white dog at Kiba's feet. He laughed. "Oh, yeah! And this little guy's Akamaru." Akamaru barked again. I smiled and bent down to pet him on the head. I cooed to the dog as I scratched him. Kiba started laughing. "I've never seen Akamaru in this much ecstasy! I think he likes you."

Then a chilling sensation came over all of us. Unmei asked, "Shino, did you just say something?"

"No. The wind shifted." His voice was, indeed, creepy, even to me. I got a cold chill and Akamaru whimpered. I 'shh'd him and began to pet him again. I talked with them until Iruka told me it was time to go meet the last team. Shino never said anything other than the four words he had already said.

I had to say, the last team was one of the weirdest I'd ever seen. They were the normal size for a team to be. There was a girl with brown hair and a pink outfit, a boy with pale purple eyes and long brown hair, and one of the other students and the sensei were very strange. They were both wearing green suits with their headbands tied around their waists. Both of them had strange, bowlcut hairstyles and unusually large eyebrows. The student had bandages wrapped around his arms and hands, just like I did. I had adopted the style to conceal the grey scars that Zetsu left on my arms and hands after Kisame had wrapped them for me. I wondered why he wore them.

Iruka went to talk with the sensei, Might Guy, and once again left me with the team. I sat on a log, since we were in a forest, and waited for someone to say something. The girl walked over and sat beside me. She sighed and watched the boy in the green outfit practicing with a target-dummy.

She turned to me, smiling. "My name's Ten Ten. Over there training is Rock Lee, and that solemn guy over there is Neji Hyuga...I'll bet you're going to end up training with us."

"Do you think so? It is possible I might be in another team." Or they could really irritate me and put me back with Tsuba and Midori.

Suddenly, Rock Lee walked over to me. With one hand behind his back and another in front of him, he said, "Sen, I challenge you to a duel, so I may see how well you fight."

I couldn't help but smirk and accept. Who was I turn down a fight? I stood up and didn't draw my kunai. From watching him, I realized he used mainly taijutsu, so I would fight they way he did. When our battle began, the two teachers turned around to watch. Rock Lee was actually a better fighter than I expected. He was also very fast, but so was I. I was one of the fastest people in my entire village. The only person who had been faster was a dead daimyo. Our battle went on for a long time. When Iruka said we should stop, neither of us had broken a sweat. In fact, we both started laughing.

"You are a very formidable opponent, Sen. If you do not mind, I would like to spar with you again sometime."

"I would enjoy that. I will look forward to it." I smiled and giggled.